Government could shut down Parliamentary debate on Bill C-13

Government attempts to shut down
debate on Online Spying Bill show they’re running scared
of public opinion, says
OpenMedia.ca

Government could shut down
Parliamentary debate on Bill C-13 as early as
today

The government looks likely to shut
down debate on its controversial Online Spying Bill C-13,
which MPs are scheduled to discuss later today. The move
comes after tens of thousands have spoken out on a
pro-privacy petition organized by OpenMedia.ca and a huge
nationwide 50 organization Protect our Privacy coalition. If
the government succeeds, this could be the last day of 2nd
Reading debate on the bill, which is being driven forward by
Justice Minister Peter MacKay.

Bill C-13 sparked
immediate controversy after experts revealed how over 60
pages of the bill were lifted from Vic Toews’ failed
online spying Bill C-30, which the government was forced to
withdraw after Canadians spoke out against it. Experts say
that Bill C-13 would give a wide range of authorities access
to the private lives of law-abiding Canadians. The bill
grants legal immunity to telecom providers who hand over
Canadians’ private information without a warrant, as has
already happened over 18,000 times in the case of just a
single government agency last year.

“This government
is running scared of Canadians including those in their own
party, and that’s why they’re trying to ram this bill
through Parliament with as little debate as possible,”
says OpenMedia.ca Executive Director Steve Anderson.
“This is a disgraceful approach that is typical
of a government with such a terrible track record on
privacy, and it’s no wonder that so many people, including
many grassroots conservative supporters, are speaking
out.”

Anderson continued: “Let’s be clear about
what Bill C-13 would do. It would open the door to
unprecedented warrantless surveillance of law-abiding
Canadians. It would give government bureaucrats access to
our private lives at any time without judicial oversight. It
would even encourage telecom providers to hand over our
private information without a warrant and without even
telling victims that their privacy had been violated. Peter
MacKay needs to listen to Canadians and rethink this
dangerous legislation.”

Privacy expert Professor
Michael Geist has highlighted how Bill C-13 “establishes a
new system for voluntary disclosure of personal information
that is likely to lead both to increased requests without
court oversight and to increased disclosures”.

A
hard-hitting video about Bill C-13 was launched recently by
OpenMedia and rapidly went viral, getting over 12,000 views
and securing the top two spots of Reddit Canada.

Tens
of thousands of Canadians are calling for effective legal
measures to protect our privacy from government surveillance
at http://OurPrivacy.ca

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